Eberron

In the beginning there were three progenitor dragons Siberys (good), Eberron (life) and Khyber (evil). Khyber betrayed Siberys and destroyed it shattering its body into millions of pieces. Eberron's only hope was to imprison Khyber within itself and thus Eberron became the world, Khyber the evil beneath while Siberys encircles the world in millions of glimmering pieces that occasionally fall to Eberron below. More than just a myth this legend points to the very heart of what Eberron is all about. Evil is stronger than good and is probably impossible to eliminate for good, the best we can hope for is to bind it within and hold it contained.   The continent of primary focus is Khorvaire. Formerly the empire of Galifar stretched across its entire face but the empire has fallen thanks to a war that lasted just over a hundred years, a war that has just ended and now the newly formed nations are recovering, rebuilding and attempting to establish as much power from the fallen empire as possible. This is nothing new for Khorvaire as it has experienced the rise and fall of several continent spanning empires over time and the land is spotted with ruins of these ancient empires along with ruins of more recent efforts. The vibe is post World War I Europe, soldiers returning from war unsure of what to do, countries with long borders and uneasy truces eyeing one another suspiciously and new technological developments brought about for the war that now have improved dayto-day life for the average citizen.   As befitting a post World War I feeling the setting is also draped in noir and pulp action. South of the main continent of Khorvaire is the jungle continent of Xen'drik covered in ruins from mysterious ancient civilizations and prowled by dark elves riding scorpions armed with wicked metal boomerangs. Khorvaire sports a Lightning Rail, a magical train whose coaches levitate above magical stones embedded in the ground. Airships powered by bound fire elementals soar high in the sky transporting goods and peoples across great spans in relatively short time. Mad cultists plot sinister schemes of chaos and at least a half-dozen groups, factions and cabals plotting and planning playing chess with the unwary in order to advancetheir own agendas.   Eberron answers the question what would happen in a world where low-level magic is ubiquitous. Unsurprisingly it ends up replicating a lot of technological developments of our own history. Everburning magical street lamps illuminate large city thoroughfares. In the wake of the Hundred Years War many of the most devastating weapons of war came from magical tinkering. In addition to the countries twelve powerful Houses have arisen across country borders thanks to the appearance of Dragonmarks, birthmarks that grant certain magical benefits and come with an impressive amount of status. The marks are passed down erratically through family lines and thus the twelve houses have become the equivalent of international megacorporations wielding power on par with the leaders of countries. The houses have parlayed their powers into various guilds associated with the abilities granted by their marks. Thus you could go to a healer that isn't associated with House Jorasco but you'd be taking a certain risk that you won't find in a Jorasco certified healer. Association with the guilds is pricey, but almost required in order to generate an income despite the associated fees and dues. Not every member of a House will develop a dragonmark though there is plenty of room for administrators, diplomats, janitors and so on among the Houses.